


Voltron: Legendary Defender of Laith

by Tayrose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universes, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Swearing, after season 3 episode 4, becoming a crack fic honestly, fanart fanfic, i don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-03-30 17:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13956732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayrose/pseuds/Tayrose
Summary: Keith and Lance didn't get along the best, they were both competitive and had their own issues. So how is it that a boy, who claims he's from another universe and the son of the two, manage to turn everything upside-down?Inspired by the tumblr fanart of Keith and Lance's son from another universe.http://your-leah-rose.tumblr.com/post/171746490696/aku-usagi-laith-mckogane-idk-how-this





	1. That was not expected

“-ryone okay?” Keith’s concerned voice came through Lance’s helmet.

Well shit… this did not go as planned Lance thought to himself as he came to. Voltron had been shot out of the alternate reality relatively aggressively. His groan of pain and distress seem to reassure the others that he was, indeed, alive.

“Lance!” shouted Pidge.

“Alright, everyone’s awake,” proclaimed Allura “we must try to get that comet back from Lotor!”

“Princess, I think it might be a little too late for that…” Coran stated. 

“No!”

Lance found himself slipping back and forth between darkness and consciousness. He couldn’t pay attention to what was being said or what was in front of him. They had grabbed the comet from that other reality when it all went downhill. Lotor had taken it for himself and now there was a risk that he could make a weapon as powerful as Voltron. How could they even compete if he had that dangerous of a weapon plus an entire empire by his side?

“I say we just go into the castle and try to process our next move, we can’t go after him now” Hunk suggested when Lance could focus again.

The lions made their way back into the castle and sombered into the lounge. Lance crashed onto one of the couches, spreading his limbs in every direction. Keith quietly took a seat and placed his head in his hands. Hunk and Pidge sat next to one another whispering about something. Allura simply kept walking, wanting to be away from everyone. She didn’t want to face the fact that she put her team in danger by moving that Altain ship and allowing for Lotor to get the comet. 

“I’m sorry guys,” Keith said after a few moments of silence, “I am a terrible leader and this is just another instance you see it. I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen.”

The remaining Paladins just looked at him in silence. Until finally Lance broke it, “Keith, it’s not your fault nobody knew what would happen. We just have to try to do what is right, you did that. Now get over yourself and your stupid mullet.”

A few chuckles were let out from everyone. Keith even managed to smile a little. Lance felt proud of that. 

The next few weeks were filled with training, planning, and tension. Everyone was on edge about the possibility of Voltron 2.0. They had been trying to build up a resistance, however things weren’t going stellar. Things were relatively calm. That was until the castle picked up on something entering in their area. Running into the control room the Paladins frantically got into their post.

“Coran, what is that?” asked Hunk as he ran into the room.

“I’m zooming in on it now” Coran said authoritatively. 

Suddenly the room froze as they saw the thing that looked to be heading towards them. 

“Is that...?” Lance trailed off.

“A purple lion.” Keith finished.

“Do you think that’s Lotor?” Pidge asked.

“It has to be,” Announced Allura. “Who else could manage to make something like that?”

“Well he could’ve at least have been original,” Lance said some-what bitterly.

That comment seemed to send the team into action, suddenly Allura and Keith were running down the hall to their lions. Pidge and Hunk were quick to follow suit. Lance watched them leave, looked back at the monitor to look at the purple lion. I have a bad feeling about this he thought as he ran behind the rest of his team. 

The lions zoomed into action, reaching the purple lion in no time. The purple lion looked ready to attack. There was a moment of absolute stillness before the purple lion shot a beam towards Hunk and his lion and then tried to blast off in the opposite direction. Hunk was quick to dodge the attack, but that when all hell broke loose. Soon all Lance could hear was Keith barking orders and shots going through space. Lance couldn’t bring himself to move nor shoot at the foreign lion. Lotor was quick to dodge every attack they had thrown at him. 

“Damn, he’s fast.” Keith pointed out. “Lance! We need you! What are you doing?”

Finally Lance snapped out of it and started to chase the other lion along with the others. Lasers were flying every which way, rarely flying from Lotor as he seemed too busy avoiding the lasers. They were going very strong, until Pidge shot an exceptionally good shot, especially for Pidge! The beam of light was getting inevitably closer to Lotor, suddenly Lance didn’t feel good. Red had a mind of their own, that much the Paladins knew, but this was like nothing they ever saw before. Red had flew by themselves and, being as fast as they are, jumped in front of the beam. 

“Lance!”

“Lance, what the hell?”

“Um, is that supposed to happen. I don’t think that was supposed to happen.”

“Holy quiznak!”

Lance couldn’t tell who was saying what as his lion shook from the impact. Well that’s going to hurt. 

“Hey guys, I think Red does not like this idea at all…” Lance said, “Because I sure as hell didn’t do that.”

“Why would they do that?” Allura questioned.

“Allura, you’re supposed to know all about these things,” Hunk forced out.

The stillness returned between all of the lions. Lance suddenly felt a great connection between him and the purple lion. He was presented with the image of a man, no boy, looking absolutely frightened as he gripped his controls so hard Lance was afraid he’d break them.

“Guys stop! There’s a child in there!” Lance shouted at the others who were preparing to attack again.

“What? What do you mean? How is that possible? What?” Hunk rambled.

“I’m telling you, Red just showed me. There’s a kid in there!”

“It’s Lotor messing with you!” Allura spoke up, she was absolutely terrified.

Allura go ready to attack again, but Lance rammed into her to stop her. “No. Trust me, I can’t explain how it happened, but I saw him… we can’t do this.”

“Keith, you’re the leader, what do we do?” Pidge asked.

Keith was silent. He had no idea. He couldn’t be responsible for this. He couldn’t be responsible in general! Loctor was terrible, and if he truly was in there they couldn’t make any wrong moves. However, if what Lance said was true. If there was actually a kid in there… he couldn’t live with himself if they caused the end of him. Keith trusted his team, trusted Red, and most importantly trusted Lance.

“Stand down” Keith commanded. Turning to put the speaker on “Purple lion. We apologize for the impromptu battle, we are a bit on edge. Please announce who you are and where you are from.”

Silence. 

“We are the paladins of Voltron, defenders of the universe. We wrongfully assumed you were an enemy.”

“... Laith… Laith McKogane of Brushles.”

~~~~

The lions had retreated back to the castle, including the new addition following behind Lance. Laith clearly felt more comfortable around him considering he literally took a bullet for him.

“Come out with your hands in the air and slowly!” Keith yelled as the rest of the paladins had joined Lance’s area, weapons ready. 

Slowly the lion had dropped down and opened their jaw. An ominous figure slowly walked out, arms in the air. There was steam surrounding the figure, making it hard to see. Step by step the stranger go closer. The pilots brought their bayards closer to their bodies, ready to fight if needed. Once the steam cleared, their eyes widened one by one. Allura kept her glare the longest, until she finally processed the image that was before her very eyes. A short kid with brown messy hair and fair skin stood with his arms above his head looking sheepishly down at the floor. The door opened all of a sudden and everyone whipped towards the noise. Coran flew threw the door panting heavily. 

“I’m sorry I’m late!” He exclaimed.

When they looked back at the stranger he was almost a completely different person than the scared boy they saw moments ago. This boy had somehow manage to arm himself with what seemed to be a mix between a gun and a sword. They also were allowed a look at his eyes. Wow Lance thought as he saw the dazzling purple eyes that matched perfectly with this lion. If looks could kill, lord knows they would all be dead. This boy had a fierce look in his eyes. 

“Woah, we don’t want to hurt you” Lance tried to reason.

“Uh huh, yeah, that’s why you all have weapons on me” Laith had said with a sneer.

“We just want to have protection, just in case” Hunk defended.

“Well, so do I.”

That’s reasonable. Lance thought.


	2. Is it really that shocking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well. It’s just. That. Uhh, you two kinda… look like my parents…”

“OKAAAAY, this all escalated rather quickly, how about we just take a deep breath” Lance tried to bargain. Everyone stared at him, unmoving. “Okay, um, how about I start?” he started by inhaling deeply then exhaling rather loudly. Still with everyone watching him he put away his bayard. Each had blinked once, then twice. Hunk followed, then Pidge. Allura and Keith were not as easy to persuade. Laith sighed heavily as he decided to also put away his bayard.

The tension seemed to lessen a bit. Instead of being able to cut the tension with a butter knife, it is more like a steak knife now. Putting away his bayard Keith proclaimed “Alright, how about we move this elsewhere…” 

Everyone, still with their armor on, had moved to the lounge where they began an interrogation. 

“You’re from Brushles? I have never heard of that planet before,” Allura bit out.

“Well, you see, I’m not exactly from around here,” Laith said a little unsure.

“What do you mean? Not from around here?” Asked Pidge. 

“Exactly that. I am from a COMPLETELY different area.”

“I know this universe like the back of my hand. Plus you look like a human to me” Allura said.

“Where did you get that lion?” 

“Where were you headed?”

“When, down to the tick, did you enter this section of the universe? WHY ARE YOU IN THIS SECTION?!”

“Coran, take a deep breath.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Laith rolled his eyes. “I got that lion from my parents. I am a human, and I have no idea where I was going. I don’t even know where I am.”

Allura raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’m… not really from this universe… or this reality from that matter.” Laith continued. 

“Oh.” 

“WAIT-You mean to tell me you’re from the universe where the Altains rule?” Pidge asked.

“What? No, I am from one where humans have started to try to take over the other planets. They were successful in taking over their galaxy and neighboring galaxies. They have tried to move on to others.”

“You take over planets?” Keith asked a little surprised.

“I do not. My family and I are apart of a resistance that is trying to stop our kind from taking over. We do not believe anyone should be controlled or have a dictator as a ruler.”

“In this Universe that is the way the Galra has been ruling the planets they have conquered, they have been almost completely succeeded in controlling the entire universe. We are similar to you, we have formed a resistance and have liberated many planets.” Allura explained with her arms crossed, keeping her distance.

“Galra? Wow that’s shocking. Where I am from Galra have been one of our biggest supporters in the fight.”

Finally feeling comfortable enough Hunk ripped off his helmet and wiped the sweat that had formed behind his ears and on the back of his neck. “I didn’t know I could sweat so much from an awkward stand-off, interrogation, and announcement of ANOTHER Universe.”

Allura also took off her helmet, shaking her head slightly. Pidge, who had taken off their helmet a while ago, put it to the side, tired of carrying it. Lance and Keith took off theirs at the same time. With them all in one smaller room they all got a better look at one another. Laith had looked all of them up and down, as if addressing their physique. After he finished looking over Coran he looked back to where Lance and Keith were standing next to each other.

Laith let out a small “Huh…”

The others looked at him a little confused. “Why 'huh'?” Pidge asked.

“Well. It’s just. That, um. Hmm how do I put this?” Laith pondered looking back at the ground. A sigh was let out before his head snapped back to the duo. “Uhh, you two kinda… look like my parents…”

A second passed. The others were trying to comprehend what was just said. 

“WHAT?!” Keith and Lance shouted in perfect unison with the same shocked look on their faces. Allura’s eyes widened. 

“What the quiznak?!” Coran exclaimed. Hunk looked between Lance and Keith, increasing to faster head turns the more he looked between them.

Suddenly Pidge started laughing like there was no tomorrow. “WAIT! WAIT! You’re saying in a different Universe Lance and Keith are together and you are their love child?” 

Laith’s eyes widened at the mention of their names. ‘Wow these guys are terrible hosts considering I didn’t even know their names’ he thought internally rolling his eyes 'But then again, aren't I technically a prisoner? Kidnapped by my dads from another universe, who would've thought?' Laith let out a little smile wanting to laugh at the irony of the situation.

“He said ‘KINDA’. KINDA! That means it is COMPLETELY possible that we are just similar!” Lance came up with an excuse.

“Well when I said kinda, I meant exactly. Their names are Keith and Lance as well… that’s why they named me Laith.”

Lance and Keith looked at one another. It was as if Lance could hear Keith’s thoughts of ‘Who the fuck is this kid and what kind of drugs is he on? Is there a place I can get these drugs?’ Pidge laughed even harder, while Allura just stared at the wall, trying to comprehend what the kid was saying. Hunk soon joined Pidge in their uncontrollable laughter. Soon they were both rolling around on the ground together. Coran went to on a tangent about a theory of his own about different Universes. It was something that had to do with how different Universes probably flipped everything around because they are upside-down.

Laith's purple irises scanned the mess in front of him, eyebrows furrowed, eyes bright, head tilted, smile (even if just a bit) on. ‘Is it really that shocking? By the way the blue and red one were acting I thought they were already together? They act the same way Dad and Apá do.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out a bit earlier than I thought, I found myself with some free-time and wanted to update. I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, but if school continues as it has been hopefully it'll be within a couple of days. Within the next week for sure though. 
> 
> Also thank you for the support, I am a little insecure about my writing, but when I saw the fanart and no one had wrote anything about it yet I felt the NEED to do something. I would highly recommend looking at it if you haven't already, it truly is amazing. Also the link I have in the main summary opens to my own Tumblr account, I do not own the art!
> 
> This chapter is a bit short, but I thought it would be cute to end it on that note.


	3. If only Shiro was here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh my god, he’s an emo boy just like Keith."

Calm finally overcame the lounge a the excitement of the news passed. 

 

“So, do your parents know you aren’t in the right universe?” asked Coran.

 

Laith let out a small uncomfortable laugh. “Yeah. About that…” he started, “I may or may not have ran away because they were being assholes.”

 

“How so?” Pidge inquiried. 

 

“They just didn’t understand me or my need to just go out into the world by myself.”

 

Silence overcame the crowd.

 

“Oh my god, he’s an emo boy just like Keith. You really are related” Pidge responded laughing.

 

“What? I’m not emo.” Keith stated.

 

“That was the most emo-Keith thing I’ve ever heard and it came out of your son’s mouth.” Hunk defended.

 

“Son from another universe!” Lance clarified. 

 

“Speaking of another universe, what is it like? Are there millions of galaxies? What do the people look like? How is the resistance going?” Pidge went on asking question after question with Coran and Lance pitching in a question every now and then.

 

After an influx of question (and much needed introductions), Laith looked as if he was about to pass out at any moment.

 

“Alright, that’s enough for one night. Let the poor boy sleep, I assume he’s had a long day,” Lance said putting an end to the question asking. Laith nodded barely keeping his eyes open. Lance helped him off the couch and started taking him towards on of the extra rooms they had. Laith was dead weight as Lance was practically carrying his ‘son’ to a room. “Come on man, you have to work with me,” Lance said softly.

 

Suddenly a substantial amount of force was lifted, Lance looked over to see Keith on the other side of Laith. They each had taken one arm of the boy and placed it around their shoulders to help support him. After a few stumbles, trips, and grunts they finally made it to the room. Staying silent they had placed Laith in his new designated bed. It was a struggle, but they had managed to even place a blanket over him. They stood next to each other. Lance looked at the boy, then up to Keith. It seemed so crazy to him that in some other reality they were together. They had a goddamn son. Keith raised his gaze from the boy to meet Lance’s eyes. Keith’s eyes were soft, softer than he has ever seen them before. Lance was the first to break eye contact as he turned around to leave the room, Keith following behind rather quickly. 

 

Making sure the door shut quietly behind him, Keith looked back to where Lance stood in the hallway. “That’s supposed to be our son.”

 

“Yeah, crazy right? Us? In another universe?” Lance let out an uneasy chuckle. He really had no idea how to go about this situation.

 

“What do we do? He doesn’t have enough quintessence to get back to his universe.” Keith stated.

 

“I have no idea… we need to find Lotor and try to get that comet back or something. That’s the only thing that would have enough quintessence. I’m surprised he had enough to get through the first time. He really didn’t think this over.” Lance ran a hand threw his hair as he tried to come up to a solution to this mess.

 

“If only Shiro was here, he would know what to do.”

 

“You might be right, but Shiro isn’t here right now, Keith. You are the current paladin of the black lion. Our leader. We are here to support you to try to do what’s best for Voltron and the universe. And now, another universe.” Lance roared with a gloomy sigh. 

 

Keith stood there for a second letting Lance’s words process in his mind. With a soft sigh Keith look at Lance. “You’re right.”

 

“Damn, Keith finally revealed that I am, indeed, right. Never thought I would hear that one!” Lance chuckled. 

 

“Oh shut up or I’ll take it back”

 

“Ah! Ah! Ah! No take-backsies!”

 

\-----

 

The duo made their way back to the kitchen where they grabbed some food and sat by each other in the Castle’s dining room. They ate in silence as the others had still been talking in the Lounge. Lance kept stealing looks at Keith. 

 

“Do you think his parents are worried?” Keith asked out of nowhere.

 

Lance thought about that question. Where they? They were technically them, so would they be worried?

 

“Yes. They are us, I guess. I would be terrified if my child disappeared from the universe. Wouldn’t you?” Lance confessed. 

 

“Well yeah. I think? I don’t really know, I haven’t had anyone to worry about in a long time. This team is the closest thing to family I’ve had in awhile.” Keith admitted.

 

Lance looked at him with a sorrowful expression. He wanted to say something. He had no idea what to say though. He wasn’t good at this whole comforting thing. With a sigh Keith got up and walked out of the room. Lance looked after him, and continued to look at the door that had shut behind Keith. Lance looked down at his almost finished dish of green goop. 

 

After doing his nightly routine, Lance slipped into his bed. The events from the day still racing in his head, he couldn’t seem to get over the fact that he and Keith. KEITH of all people. Were together. The small brown-haired, purple-eyed boy’s face had been engraved into the back of Lance’s eyelids.

 

\-----

 

A heavy weight had awoken Lance from his peaceful slumber.

 

“Who? What? Huh? ZARKON!” Lance crescendoed as he was ripped into consciousness. Lance’s eye-mask came off his eyes and he saw Laith sitting on his bed.

 

“Hi.” was all that came out of the boy.

 

“Uh, whaddup?” Lance slurred.

 

“I haven’t eaten in like a day and would really prefer to have some food now.” Laith said awkwardly. 

 

“Mmmkay” Lance slowly got out of his bed. As he stood he took a thick blanket with him. He lead Laith to the kitchen as he slowly tried to blink the tiredness from his eyes. Once they entered the room Lance went straight to the food gushers and gushed out some green shit onto a plate for Laith. ‘Haha green shit’ Lance laughed at himself. 

 

Laith looked at it, disgust filled his facial expression.

 

“It’s better than it looks.” Lance promised.

 

Laith took it hesitantly. He then flung himself on top of the countertop that was in the kitchen and started to eat it carefully, afraid it would kill him. Lance took a seat next to him. 

 

“I’m sure you’re tired of questions, so why don’t you ask me some” Lance suggested. 

 

“Um, okay,” Laith paused, “What’s your favorite color?”

 

Lance laughed a bit at the childish question, “Blue.”

 

“Don’t you fly the red lion, well, in this universe?”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow to that, choosing to stick to his no-asking-questions policy for now. “Yes, but I originally flew the blue lion and good ol’ Blue will always have a special place in my heart” Lance pronounced as he gestured to his heart.

 

“Why did you jump save me from that attack when you didn’t know who I was and assumed I was some bad guy?”

 

“That was all Red. He knew better than me and did it himself.”

 

“Wow…” Was all that Laith managed to get out. Laith snapped his head back up to Lance “Is it really so far fetched that you and Keith could be together?”

 

Lance looked to the side awkwardly avoiding eye contact. “It’s just that, well, Keith and I don’t necessarily get along. We bicker and fight a lot”

 

“My Dad and  Apá do the same, they bicker all the time. But they always smile afterwards, even if they really are mad”

 

Lance’s heart fluttered a little at the ‘Apá’. That must have been him in the other universe. That is what he called his father, it was a shortened ‘Papá’ that some spanish speakers used. Lance missed his family dearly. 

 

“Keith, get ready it’s almost time for training!” Hunk called as he jogged passed the kitchen. At first Lance was confused, had Hunk mixed him up to be Keith?

 

But then the black-haired man had appeared in the doorway. ‘Did Keith listen to all of that?’

 

Keith ran back towards the training hall, ignoring the look Lance gave him. 

 

Lance looked down to his pajamas and blanket and exhaled. “I better get going… Thanks for the talk” Lance uttered to Laith as he turned around to quickly get changed. 


	4. Fun and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Damn! My son’s a savage!” 
> 
> “Shush, no swearing in front of the child!”

Voltron had improved a lot in working as a team. Especially compared to when Allura had first joined as the blue paladin. Their training went pretty smooth. Laith watched them with interest, constantly whipping his head around to follow either Lance or Keith. At one point Keith had offered for Laith to join them. Now that certainly was something, Laith didn’t really understand what was happening. He mainly did as he was told, slowly grasping onto the training and how to work with the group. At one point Lance could have sworn he saw a small smile on Keith’s face as he watched Laith catch on, but it soon fell as Laith failed to block a shot, which in turn hit Keith making the floor beneath him disappear. That was when everyone else seemed to forget how to do the exercise as well and soon everyone had followed Keith’s fall.

 

“That was fun!” Laith enthused.

 

“It was something” Hunk said with a small smile.

 

They all smiled at Laith’s enthusiasm. After that they declared to end their training for the moment and go get some lunch. They all sat in their usual spots at the table, the new addition was placed between Lance and Keith. They ate their food quietly.

 

“So, do you know how you’re going to get back to your universe?” Allura broke the silence.

 

Laith’s care-free expression dropped. He looked to his food, running his spoon through the goop. “No-um-not yet.”

 

“He’s been here for like a day, Allura, obviously he isn’t going to have a plan,” Keith interjected sending a small glare Allura’s way.

 

“And that’s fine, young man! No rush here, let us know how we can help!” Coran emphasized.

 

“Yes, sorry. I did not mean to offend anyone” Allura hesitated.

 

“We might want to try to get that comet back from the Empire if possible.” Lance suggested.

 

“That could be risky, who knows? They might already have taken it apart to create something similar to Voltron” Pidge replied.

 

“Yeah, but we can’t just give up. That comet is our best bet on getting him back to where he belongs” Hunk spoke up.

 

Laith had been looking between the members awkwardly. He seemed to have shrunk in his seat. He was uncomfortable with them all bickering Lance realised. Lance sighed.

 

“What’s your favorite color?” Lance asked Laith as the others continued to debate.

 

Laith looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “Purple.”

 

“That’s a nice color. What’s your favorite thing to do?”

 

“Um, I really like talking to people, in general. I like learning more about other people and other cultures.”

 

Lance smiled at that. “Me too, I’ve always found it interesting. People call me annoying for talking so much and always getting flirty with strangers, but I can’t help it”

 

A small chuchle came out of Laith, and Lance also let out a laugh.

 

“What are you guys laughing at?” Keith said, getting distracted from the debate.

 

“Oh nothing” Lance teased.

 

Keith’s eyes narrowed “uh huh.”

 

Lance just smiled at him. “We are just talking about life, would you like to join?”

 

“Sure I guess.”

 

“Cool! What’s _your_   favorite thing to do?” Lance asked.

 

“Your mom” Pidge butted in.

 

“Bitc-I mean- _buddy_ ” Lance said tightly, “I will fight you.”

 

“Do it.” Pidge taunted.

 

“That would be animal abuse” Laith chimed in. Pidge’s mouth dropped and eyes went wide.

 

“OHHHHHH” Hunk boomed.

 

“Damn! My son’s a savage!” Keith proclaimed.

 

“Shush, no swearing in front of the child!” Lance scolded. Lance turned to look at Laith, “That, my friend, is how you roast. You have done well” A huge smile on his face.

 

High fiving Lance, Laith broke out into laughter. Everyone else was soon to follow. Their food was left abandoned as Lance fell to the floor in laughter, Hunk’s eyes started watering with how hard he was laughing as he slammed his hand on the table, and Keith was covering his mouth with his hand as he let out a loud laugh. Pidge started giggling as well after they got over the initial shock. Allura and Coran were leaning on one another, laughing hard as well.

 

“It wasn’t even that funny, but I’m so shocked” Pidge let out between giggles.

 

“Everyone else laughing is making me laugh.”

 

“I feel like I’m in the classroom again and the teacher just told me to stop laughing.”

 

“God we are a mess.”

 

“At least we’re a hot mess!”

 

“I believe this is a coping mechanism or something.”

 

Their laughter finally died down and they looked at one another. Allura smiled. “Laith, you will always have a place here, but I do think you want to get home soon. Let us know if there’s anything we can do. We will try to find a way to get you back to your family.”

 

Laith broke into a shy smile. “Thank you” he squeaked out.

 

They all smiled at him.

 

\---------

Lance offered to clean up the mess they made as the others went to clean themselves off from the sweat they had produced while training. Keith joined him.

 

“He’s a good kid,” Keith murmured.

 

“Yeah he is,” Lance smiled. He’s been smiling a lot lately. “I bet I can clean more thing than you can!”

 

“Oh it’s on!”

 

They ran around like mad men as they grabbed plates, silverware, glasses, and anything else they could find. Standing next to one another over a sink, they bumped elbows and sometimes they purposely bump a little harder than to just be an accident. Lance-cleaning with way more vigor than needed when cleaning utensils-ends up breaking a glass.

 

“Ha! That should be an automatic lose!”

 

“No way! It’s clean isn’t it?!” Lance defended.

 

“You’re impossible.”

 

They smile at one another. Lance’s smile spreads across his entire face, while Keith’s is small and fond. ‘This is alright’ Lance thinks to himself as they finish cleaning.


	5. Laith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No way in hell I bottom!”
> 
> “Are you just going to ignore the fact that you could conceive a child?”

Laith  _ really _ didn’t understand this universe. First his ‘parents’ tried to kill him, then he learned that the Galra were evil, and just how different everything was. There were some similarities of course, although they come to him few and far in between he still sees them. He takes in Lance’s extensive skin care routine before bed as a reminder of his  Apá and Keith’s protective nature as a reminder of his dad. Even the way they acted around one another mimicked his parents. His parents had never planned on having him, it was more like a ‘happy accident’ as they had put it. 

 

Memories of his own universe had soon flooded his mind. He missed his home. His parents. His life. He needed to get back, he  _ had  _ to get back. The war was still going on and no way in hell would it be ending any time soon. God Apá was going to be so angry with him when he got back. He wasn’t supposed to leave the base let alone the universe! 

 

Laith let out a long sigh before finally dragging himself out of the shower. He found that the shower was a good spot for him to be in and hide from the world when he needed to think. Sometimes it drove his dad mad when he stayed in for too long, but he never got more than a quick scolding for wasting water. As he got dressed and exited the bathroom he ran into Allura.

 

“Ah, sorry Princess!”

 

“Nonsense, no need to apologize!” She hastily responded. Laith looked to her with a small smile. “I was looking for you anyways!”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing, it must be hard being so far from home,” Allura had a sad smile and comforting eyes.

 

“It’s been alright… I will be honest, I miss home. I miss it a lot and I have no idea how to get back. I wasn’t expecting to just be blasted into a whole new universe. I don’t have enough quintessence to get through another passage if we even find one,” Laith let out.

 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay! We’ll figure it out! I promise,” Allura responded, “We’ll get you back home.”

 

‘You can’t promise that’ Laith thought. He gave her one last smile before heading down the hallway.

 

He was still trying to memorize the castle’s layout, it had been extensive and everything looked the same. He walked to where he thought the control room would be. After a few wrong turns and a trip later he finally got to his destination. As he entered a small green figure in a chair to big for them caught his eye.

 

“What’s up?” Pidge said, barely looking up from their screen. 

 

“Uh, just looking around.” Really he came here to observe the unknown galaxy around him, to see if he could recognize any constellations or  _ anything.  _ He sighed when he saw nothing familiar. 

 

“So, I have a few questions. About your universe, you know if you let me ask them…” Pidge asked, breaking the silence. 

 

“Sure, I’m not an expert about my universe, but I can certainly try”

 

“Thanks, Keith told me to stop asking questions, but I am so curious! It’s not everyday I meet someone from an alternate reality!”

 

“Shoot.”

 

“First, do you fight in your reality? I know you said there was a war going on.” Pidge asked with slight hesitance. 

 

“No, I wish, but my parents won’t let me. They keep me locked in the base a lot. Sometimes I get to go out and practice flying and fighting for self defense purposes, but they never let me go to the actual battlefield. My dad, the one like your Keith, goes out to fight a lot.”

 

“How old are you anyway?” They have a very perplexed expression on their face.

 

“Fourteen.”

 

“Holy wow, you’re young. I was not expecting that from you. You seem older.”

 

“I kind of have to be, if I act like a child I’ll be treated like one. If I’m stupid, I die.” Laith said turning back towards the stars. 

 

“Well that’s depressing.” 

 

Silence glooms over them for a second. 

 

“How were you born? Do humans have a different anatomy in your universe? Here two males with dicks can’t reproduce.” 

 

Laith looks towards Pidge and blinks.  “I really don’t want to think about my parents’ having sex.”

 

“Please! I want to know how it’s possible!”

 

“Well, um, from my understanding that since my dad is part Galra, he was able to conceive and carry me I guess.”

 

“WHAT?!” An abrupt shout was heard from somewhere in the room.

 

“SHHHHH!”

 

“Too late now, you idiots” Pidge, unimpressed, said. 

 

Lance and Keith had popped out from their hiding place behind some of the equipment. 

 

“So you’re saying that Keith bottoms!” Lance shouted.

 

“Gross, gross. I don’t want to think about it!” Laith stuck his fingers in his ears.

 

“No way in hell I bottom!”

 

“Are you just going to ignore the fact that you could conceive a child?” Pidge chimed in. 

 

Keith’s eyes widened and his arms immediately clutched his stomach. “Nope, nope, sorry not in this universe. Jesus.” 

 

“Also, there is always a chance that you guys would switch. Hell if other Keith didn’t know he could become pregnant and then all of a sudden did, there could be a chance it was a one-time thing.” Pidge pointed out. 

 

“Pidge, you’re ace! How do you know these things?!” Lance shouted waving his arms in the air. Laith, fingers still in ears, looked at him with a weird expression. 

 

“You think I always knew I was ace? You better bet that I’ve done my research. I’ve probably seen more porn than you have!”

 

Lance let out a chuckle and raise his eyebrow, “You sure about that?”

 

“Is that something you want to be bragging about?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow of his own.

 

Lance blushed and looked to the ground.

 

“Is it safe now… can I remove my fingers?!” Laith asked, speaking louder than normal.

 

Pidge nodded their head towards Laith. Laith let out a relieved sigh and the fingers vanished from his ears. He broke into a smile and then into giggles. The others following him shortly. They were in the middle of laughter when suddenly alarms cut it short. They looked at one another, confused.

 

Allura busted through the door only a few seconds later. “Paladins! Get to your lions! Galra ships set a course for us and they will be attacking shortly!”

 

The three paladins suddenly jumped up running towards the door, Laith hot on their tail. 

 

“Woah, where do you think you’re going?” Keith proclaimed. Laith stopped in his tracks, staring at the man before him.


	6. Kid Got Skills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well. That just happened,”
> 
>  
> 
> “That was my first actual battle"

“Woah, where do you think you’re going?”

 

“To help?” Laith said with a dumbfound expression. 

 

“Nope. no. Not happening.” Keith shut down.

 

Lance looked back and forth between the two as Keith and Laith were having a stare-down. Laith looked like a puppy who had just been kicked, while Keith looked strong and unyielding. 

 

“Okay! Okay! Let’s calm down here and just get going, we have bad guys to beat!” Lance tried to lighten the mood.

 

Laith straightened up and let out a “Right, let’s go.”

 

“You are not coming. Sorry, but no,” 

 

“This is not the time for this, just let the kid help you guys!” Allura said, tired of their fighting. 

 

“Look, I can’t let him go out there,” Keith whipped his head to Allura. 

 

“I know how to fight, I’ve been trained. By you. In another dimension.”

 

“Still not happening. You’re too young and you would just get in the way.” Keith stood his ground.

 

Up until this point Laith had been getting increasingly more tense and defensive, but with Keith’s comment Laith let everything fall, even his face. Lance looked at the boy with pity. He understood why Keith wouldn’t want the boy out in battle, but that was just unnecessary and hurtful. Turning on his heels, Lance grabbed Keith and pulled him out of the room by his shoulder. Pidge followed closely behind them. Deciding this would be the best time to escape, Pidge ran past Keith and Lance towards their lion. Allura was quick to follow suit. 

 

“What the fuck, Keith?!” Lance shouted, “That was uncalled for. He’s just a kid! I understand you don’t want him to fight, but goddamn! You didn’t need to say that.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry, I just wanted him to drop it. I-fuck-Lance, I can’t be responsible for him getting hurt or fucking killed. I can’t-” Keith had to stop himself as he began losing his usual cold demeanor. This boy was bringing out side of Keith never knew he had. Lance took in Keith’s hurting facial expression and shrugged shoulders and realised Keith had no idea what he was doing nor how to deal with the new addition of Laith. 

 

Letting out a sigh Lance put his head into his hands, shaking his head. “That was  _ not  _ the way to voice your concerns. Keith.”

 

“I know. I just don’t know how.”

 

“We’ll talk about this later, we have some Galra ass to kick!” Lance smirked, trying to bring the energy and focus back into the matter at hand. Keith nodded his head in agreement and together they went running down the hallways getting to their lions as quickly as they could. They split their paths and Lance boarded the red lion and whipped out of the castle as soon as he could, meeting with the others.

 

The Galra had not yet reached them, the Paladins stood ready for a fight. Focus was now solely on this fight, the drama was left in the control room with Laith. Laith looked out of the huge windows at what would form Voltron. Laith was devastated. He wasn’t able to fight at home nor this universe. He was trained to always be ready for a battle, yet he was never allowed even close to one. This would be the closest he was to a battle and he just had to sit and watch. Laith watched at the Galra had finally reached the Paladins and he slowly slipped towards the edge of his seat. 

 

The battle begun. They were still messy and sloppy. Him and Allura hadn’t completely adjusted to their lions yet and what should have been an easy win proved to be much harder. Lance tried to control his speed as he whipped to dodge the small ships’ attacks. There was only one ‘mother’ ship, so this should be nothing! Getting frustrated Keith barked out vague commands every now and then, the other paladins rushing to attack and defend. They messily attacked the fleet and Lance felt his heart beat harder and harder. 

 

Laith put his hands over his eyes (still allowing himself to peek between his fingers) as he watched this horrific battle unfold. He was used to a different Voltron. A Voltron that had fought together for  _ years _ and  _ years. _ This was not his Voltron from home. This was the early stages of what was supposed to be. He couldn’t allow them to struggle like this. Screw what Keith said. He was going to fight. Coran seemed to be watching him carefully and  _ must  _ be a mind reader because he had walked towards Laith and grabbed a helmet off of a nearby table. 

 

“I programmed it to connect to their’s… be careful out there. I know I can’t stop you!” 

 

Laith ran down to the red lion’s container, where his own lion had been left, and hopped into Iris. Laith announced his presence with a quick attack to  a small part of the fleet that had been tailing Keith. 

 

“What the fu-” Keith started.

 

“Laith?!” Lance shrieked.

 

“Hi” was his only response.

 

“Way to go little man!” Hunk proclaimed.

 

“Jesus Christ, no one listens to me.” Keith said, a hint a humor in his voice. “I’m fucking pissed at you for coming out here… but also kind of thankful.”

 

Laith smiled a little as he continued his attack, he used what he learned about the Paladins during the training they did to calculate his next moves. Soon Pidge, Keith, Lance, Allura, and Hunk were able to pick up on what Laith was doing and eventually the Lions had started to replicate their training. Defending one another and taking down the fleet. Eventually, the Paladins were able to come together and form Voltron as Laith watched in admiration. This may not be his Voltron, but the formation of Voltron was still mesmerizing to him. It reminded him of home. He watched as Voltron formed their sword and took down the ship where the fleet had come from. He listened as they spoke to one another, devizing the perfect plan to take the enemy down. 

 

They returned back to the castle and Allura opened a wormhole to a different location. 

 

“Well. That just happened,” Hunk stated.

 

“That was my first _actual_   battle,” Laith said with a smile.

 

Keith groaned, “Don’t remind me.”

 

Lance smiled at Laith, “You did well, I’m impressed with your skills.”

 

This made Laith genuinely proud and estatic, “Thank you,” an enormous smile was plastered on his face. 

 

Team Voltron and Laith sat in the lounge as they winded down from their battle. Cracking jokes and Lance dramatically retold the tales of their many other battles to Laith, the other members adding in their own interpretation every now and then. Laith told a few of his own as well. 

 

“One time, my parents had an argument about something so stupid and refused to talk to one another-even in missions!” Laith frantically waved his arms in the air trying to add to his point, “They literally almost died because they were so caught up within themselves!”

 

The group let out a laugh “Yeah I can see Keith and Lance doing that,” Pidge added as they whipped the tears that had started to form. 

 

“Are you kidding? You think Lance could keep his mouth shut that long?” Allura responded laughing. 

 

“Hey! I can be quiet!” Lance defended.

 

“Sure, Jan” Hunk quoted. Lance rolled his eyes at Hunk and their laughter eventually died down. 

 

Keith stood up, “Alright, I’m going to head to bed now, this has been a long ass day.”

 

With that Keith left the room and Lance watched after him. “Me too.” Lance said standing up following after Keith shortly after. Lance eventually reached Keith’s room and opened the door. Keith looked towards the now opening door with confusion. Lance smiled at him as he came into sight. “Hey.”

 

“Hi?” Keith questioned.

 

“Are you alright? You were awfully quiet after the battle.” 

 

“I’m fine.” Keith responded shortly.

 

Lance looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “No you’re not, Keith. I know what you’re like after a battle and today was not your usual self. Was it about Laith? He did so well! He saved your life Keith!”

 

“I know!” Keith yelled, “I fucking know. He did amazing and he’s got skill, but now he might want to fight in more battles, but we can’t do that Lance. We can’t allow that. He is so young and his parents-shit his parents must be so worried and I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy with this.” Keith progressively got quieter and more reserved.

 

“Hey, Keith, buddy. I know this is a weird situation and it’s crazy, but come on we have greater things to deal with.” Lance tried to comfort, “There is no right way to go about this! That kid has skills and he has a good head on his shoulders. We have to trust him because I don’t think we can stop him.”

 

Keith sighed, “You’re probably right.”

 

“Of course I am” A smirk crept onto Lance’s face. Silence filled the air between them as they looked at one another. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was more of a comfortable silence. Neither Lance nor Keith realised that the distance between the two of them had been decreasing until they could feel their breaths on each other’s lips. Lance looked down at Keith, eyes flashing to his lips. Keith looked into Lance’s eyes, searching for something that Lance couldn’t put his finger on. Then, time stopped. Everything froze around them as Lance’s lips found Keith’s, or maybe it was the other way around, neither of them could tell as they were a little too distracted to think about it too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! Here we go! I wrote this instead of studying for my upcoming National Exams and/or sleeping! We are really starting to get into the Klance shit. Also I'm pretty sure this is casually turning into a crack fic, but hey I'm not complaining if you're not! I am not a huge fan of my writing and I have always struggled with writing fiction so I hope this isn't too bad!
> 
> Comment and let me know what you think! I love reading the comments I get!


	7. Two Men, One Face

Lance’s shoes seemed to echo off the hallway walls as his feet carried him to his room. Lance felt like he was floating, a smile crept onto his lips. He couldn’t stop thinking about Keith’s lips on his as he placed his fingers on his lips. After they had shared their little  _ moment  _ Keith and Lance had looked at each other somewhat awkwardly before smiles broke out on their faces. High on life and the kiss Lance had let out a small laugh before getting up. No words were exchanged, but the look on Keith’s face was enough to tell Lance that their kiss wasn’t half bad. One last content sigh and Lance was now at his door. He fell onto his bed and let his eyelids fall closed. A soft smile laid engraved into his cheeks.

 

When Lance finally woke up it wasn’t to his natural REM sleep cycle waking him up, no. It was to a a little green gremlin jumping on his chest. His eyes shot open, winded from the  _ special _ surprise. Coughing and looking up to see Pidge and a stupid smirk on their face made him want to punch it off. 

 

“What the fuck?”

 

“Dude, you’ve been sleeping since forever. It’s about time you get up. We still got shit to do!” Pidge said still sitting a top Lance’s chest, cross legged, as if it was a normal chair.

 

“Why did you have to jump on me?”

 

“‘Cause fuck you that’s why.”

 

“Jesus Christ. This!  _ This _ is why I hate you.”

 

“Lol yeah right.” Pidge hopped off Lance and sauntered out of the room a sharp glare following them all the way to the door. 

 

Lance got dressed and left the room. Once he reached the lounge he took a seat next to Hunk. 

 

“Hunk, how could you let the little gremlin jump me in my sleep?! What kind of friend are you?” Lance exclaimed dramatically. 

 

“Hey I don’t control anyone.  _ Especially  _ not Pidge. Pidge terrifies me.” 

 

Lance rolled his eyes as he looked over to where Pidge was sitting talking to Laith in a corner. Lance scanned his eyes across the rest of the room. “Hey, where’s Keith?” 

 

“Oh, he said he was going out to look for Shiro again and then when I asked him if he wanted help he said some emo shit about how he needs time alone to think about ‘things’.”

 

Lance laughed a little at Hunk’s description. “Well hopefully he gets it all thought through,” Lance wondered if it had anything to do with last night. He knows it was sudden, but it felt long overdue. He lets out a soft sigh and Hunk looks towards him. 

 

“Are you okay, dude?” 

 

“I'm fine, just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night,” Lance reassures smiling at Hunk. Suddenly Laith comes jumping onto the couch taking a seat next to Lance. 

 

“Hello there,” Lance says a little shocked at a abruptness.

 

“Hi, I heard Hunk mention something about a Shiro…” 

 

“Shiro was the black paladin before Keith. He disappeared after a battle with Zarkon,” Hunk proclaimed. 

 

“Woah, he just left?” Laith asked a little shocked. 

 

“Not really, we don’t know how it happened only that he was there and suddenly he wasn't. He isn't the kind of guy to leave. That's why Keith is looking for him. To try to help.” Lance clarified. 

 

“That really sucks.”

 

“Yeah it does ‘really suck’,” Lance gave Laith a small smile. 

 

Coran suddenly busted through the lounge doors, “Hello there paladins! Oh! And Laith! It seems Keith has returned-"

 

“How bad is he now? Still beating himself up?” Pidge asked.

 

“That's the thing… Shiro is with him"

 

“What?!” Hunk exclaimed.

 

“We got him in a healing pod now.”

 

Lance got off the couch faster than he has ever gotten up in his life. He ran down the halls, turning corners and almost running into walls. He finally came to the door. He hesitated before entering. ‘Where had Shiro been? What if Shiro wasn't okay?’ Lance couldn't bare to see Shiro if he was dying. He felt guilty enough for allowing it to happen. He knew it wasn't his fault and there was nothing he could do and all the other generic bullshit lines, but that didn't help his guilt. He didn't have time to deal with his insecurities Shiro was just beyond the door and he would need support from all of the paladins. With one last deep breath Lance opened to door and was greeted by the sight and Shiro, their leader, in a healing pod with incredibly long hair. Allura and Keith stood next to the pod, inspecting the screen next to it. Lance was frozen as he took in this new Shiro. Not too long after the others made it in as well. Hunk took a spot next to Lance, Pidge next to Hunk. The last to enter was Coran and Laith. Laith took in his surroundings finally resting on the man in the tube. Laith’s eyebrows slowly drew together and he started walking towards the tube. Slow, cautious, steps lead him to pass Coran. He passed Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. Even passed Allura and Keith. He was put a hand against the glass and got even closer to observe Shiro’s face. Everyone was silent too afraid to disturb whatever was going on. 

 

Abruptly Laith ripped his hand away from the glass a withdrew his close proximity to the pod. It looked as if the glass burned him as he held his hand to his chest. “Y-you didn't tell me it was Takashi Shirogane.” Laith was walking backwards, not taking his eyes off of Shiro. 

 

“You know him?” Allura asked, her voice guarded. 

 

Laith nodded his head, eyes still glued, legs still taking him backwards. “He is a general for the Garrison…” his voice shook.

 

Pidges eyes widened as the others looked on with confusion. “The Garrison, in his universe, is responsible for the over taking of several galaxies. The Garrison is Zarkon’s Galra,” Pidge explained.

 

“What? Shiro is apart of that?” Keith was confused and perplexed, he didn’t understand how Shiro, even in another universe would do that. 

 

“The Garrison had manipulated their soldiers, said that they were bringing peace and civilization to planets, that humankind was superior and it was up to them to lead others. Both of my parents were apart of the Garrison, but they realized what they were doing. Takashi didn’t approve. He went after them…. He tried to kill them, they were considered traitors.” Laith still had yet to look away from Shiro as he explained. 

 

“This happened recently?” Lance asked, concerned. 

 

“No, this was before I was born, but he came after us again, a few months before I came here. He had grabbed my dad, Keith, and was about to take him to ‘pay for his crimes’ then when  apá tried to save him, he got shot. This all happened in front of me. I can’t get that look on his face out of my mind. They are both alright now, but damn I just... ” Laith shook his head and he finally broke his gaze from the long haired man to look at the faces around them. 

 

Lance didn’t understand how this was possible. Laith was probably beyond terrified of this man, the man who shot one of his parents and tried to kidnap the other bared a resemblance to their leader. Lance sighed and wrapped his arms around Laith. He pulled Laith close, placing a hand behind his head as if to cradle him. 

 

“I know you’re scared, but Shiro is no Takashi. I promise.” Lance whispered words of comfort. Lance felt a body embrace Laith next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that unmistakable mullet, a small smile made its way to Lance’s face. Keith looked up to Lance and smiled back. Soon enough the rest of the team had invited themselves to join in the group hug, completely surrounding Laith. 

 

“Uh guys, I think I’m going to suffocate,” Latih proclaimed. Soon laughter spread throughout the group.

 

They broke apart and Allura placed a hand onto Laith’s cheek, “You are a very strong young man and if you need anything, please let me know,” Allura had a warm smile on her face. Laith nodded and forced a small smile back. 

 

Laith excused himself from the room leaving the rest of team Voltron to process the information they had just acquired. Sighs left almost everyone’s mouth as they looked back to the healing pod Shiro was placed in. 

 

Lance looked at Keith to find that Keith was looking at him. He didn’t break the eye contact, he held it. He looked into Keith’s eyes and felt that he knew exactly what he was thinking.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, this is long overdue. My apologies, but I finally have some free time now! I hope you enjoyed!


	8. A Couple of Talks and a Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the sudden discovery of alternate universes, particularly a universe where Keith and Lance have a child called Laith, the paladins of Voltron try to process this new information. As if that wasn't enough, a missing Shiro also steps back into the picture and Laith reveals the terrifying truth of Takashi Shirogane, an enemy general in his universe, that has been going after his family for years.
> 
> Oh yeah, also Keith is bad at feelings, and Lance is just trying his best.

Laith excused himself from the room leaving the rest of team Voltron to process the information they had just acquired. Sighs left almost everyone’s mouth as they looked back to the healing pod Shiro was placed in. 

Lance looked at Keith to find that Keith was looking at him. He didn’t break the eye contact, he held it. He looked into Keith’s eyes and felt that he knew exactly what he was thinking.

\-------

Voltron ate in silence around the table. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just processing. It had been a rather information filled day. While their brains raked over Shiro finally returning and Laith being a little traumatized by it, they stuffed their mouths and welcomed the silence with open arms. Lance stole glances toward Keith knowing today had been especially hard on him. Keith wasn’t eating as much as usual, instead he found the green goop more interesting to poke at. To say the least, Lance was worried. Pidge and Hunk sat by each other making a soft remark every now and again. Coran was off making sure Shiro wouldn’t wake up alone and that the healing pod was doing its job. Allura was quick to finish her meal and help Coran. As for Laith, they had gently told him about dinner, but he didn’t move a muscle from his bed. Once again, Lance was worried. As soon as Lance put the last bite of goop into his mouth he was quick to get up so that he could make a serving for Laith. Keith watched Lance with curiosity, “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Well, I’m sure Laith will be hungry at some point, and after the day he’s had I doubt he’ll want to leave the protection of his room,” Lance let out a breathy laugh with his own statement.

“Oh.”

“Yeah…” It was awkward. Lance knew this, he was sure Keith did too. No matter how socially inept Keith was sometimes, anyone in the room could feel how awkward it was. 

“Okayyyyy” Pidge interrupted “I don’t know what’s going on with you guys, but I’m just going to leave.” Pidge was quick to spring to their feet and swiftly left the room.

“Wait take me with you!” Hunk nearly fell out of his chair as he chased after Pidge. The awkward silence was quick to return.

“Cabasdlfjcn” Keith murmered. 

“What?” 

“Can I come with you?” Keith said slightly louder, “I’m worried about him, God, we have no idea what he’s been through and obviously he isn’t doing well with the whole Shiro thing. I think he’s just now fully processing what this all means.”

Lance nodded his head, “He should definitely eat and so should you.”

“I’m too worried to eat, so much shit has happened.”

“Well suck it up, you’re still our leader and we need you to be big and strong” Lance said with a smirk.

“Oh fuck off, one day I’ll be taller than you” Keith said defiantly.

“Maybe you can wish upon a star and it’ll happen” 

Laughing lightly Keith finally shoved the spoon in his mouth. Lance quickly made his way to the kitchen and started preparing a bowl for Laith. He took his sweet time as he thought about Keith, the way his hair fell on his face and how pretty he looked when he laughed. Lance had his gay crisis long before he met Keith, so when he found Keith attractive it wasn’t the fact that he was a guy that he was so shocked about, it was the fact that it was Keith. Keith, his enemy, a guy who didn’t even remember him! But also Keith with the sword that he maneuvered so delicately, the sassy comebacks, and the oh so pretty lips… 

Snapping himself back to reality Lance grabbed a spoon and stopped by the dinning room where Keith was. Keith was nearly finished when he got there.

“You ready?” Asked Lance.

“Yeah, let’s go,” said Keith with a mouth full of goop. They walked side by side towards Laith’s room. Lance knocked gently on the door.

“Laith?” He asked softly. No response. “Laith?” He asked slightly louder.

Nothing.

Keith then pounded on the door, “Laith?!” Keith nearly shouted. They heard shuffling, the sound of something being knocked over, and a grunt. The door then opened and they were met with the sight of a slightly disheveled Laith.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Laith said with a small wave. “How may I help you?”

Lance started to shove the bowl into Laith’s hands “You need to eat, that’s how you can help me.”

Laith, not expecting a bowl to be thrusted in his hands, nearly dropped it before hugging it close to him with wide eyes. “O-okay.”

“Are you doing okay?” asked Keith.

“I mean, I will be,” said Laith. “There’s a lot going on. I’m in an alternate reality for one, my parents probably think I’m dead, the man who tried to kill them is here and a good guy! And I just-” Laith cut off his rambling by shoving the spoon of goop into his cheek, staring angrily at the floor.

“Hey, we know its a lot. You can rant if you need to. Lance might not be, but I’m a great listener!” proclaimed Keith.

“Hey!” Lance said offended, “Excuse me, I’m a great listener! Now Laith, talk to us. Get it off your chest.”

“Um, I guess I just am worried about my parents. I mean if they think I’m dead I don’t know how they would react. If they lost their only child… God, I can’t even imagine what that would be like. It didn’t hit me until I saw Shiro that right now there is a whole different war going on, one that my parents are involved in, and they are probably too distracted by my disappearance to stay focused.” Laith said sadly.

“Jeez kid, you really are too mature for your age,” Lance pointed out.

“When you grow up in a war that what it tends to be like…”

“I know we’ve talked about your maturity before, but it still is just so surreal to me that a fourteen year old can think about something other than themselves,” Lance said.

Laith look at Lance for a moment, “There aren’t many kids on the base where I grew up, I was surrounded by adults. The one kid who was my age died because she was reckless. I learned quickly just how my actions affect not only myself, but also others.”

Lance and Keith exchanged a look. Hearing this from an otherwise awkward teenager was very strange. He must be in some sort of headspace and Lance wishes there was something they could do to get his mind off of it. 

“I’m sorry, I’ll eat I promise, but could you just leave me alone for a while?” Laith asked awkwardly. Lance was quick to get up, wanting to give the kid space, but Keith was a little more reluctant. After a few uncomfortable seconds, Keith finally made is way up and out of the room. Lance followed behind, shooting one last look towards Laith. 

Once the door shut behind them Keith and Lance looked at one another. “We should-”  
“I think-” They talked over one another. 

Lance looked down, “Ah, sorry, you first.”

“Oh, I was just going to say that I think we should talk about what just happened… and maybe what happened the other night.”

Lance felt his face heat up and nodded. Lance was quick to turn around and start walking to his room, Keith keeping up. With the door securely shut behind them, Keith immediately blurted out “What the hell was that?”

Lance looked at Keith in confusion “What? What Laith said or…?” Lance trailed off, not wanting to mention the kiss out loud.

“Yes. Yes to both, but currently I am saying that about what Laith just said. He obviously isn’t doing well. What can we do?” 

“I don’t know, pretend like everything is normal?” 

“What no? The kid is tearing at the seams, we need to do something.”

“Okay, okay… maybe we can start training with him more seriously? Get his mind off of what has been going on. Figure out what he likes and allow him to have a somewhat normal childhood while we try to figure out how to get him home.”

“That’s actually not a horrible idea, Lance. I’m proud, truly.”

“Shut up, I’m smart sometimes.”

Keith broke into a smile. He doesn’t remember truly smiling at Lance about anything other than a won battle. And the kiss. That fucking kiss that’s been consuming his thoughts for what felt like years. “I think we need to talk about the other thing now.”

Lance’s face started heating up again. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“Why did we kiss? What is happening?” Keith asked, confused and embarrassed.

“I… I don’t really know myself. I know I’ve found you attractive for a while and that while you annoy me, you are still someone I admire very much.” Lance said sincerely. 

A slight blush went across Keith’s cheeks. “I just want to be honest with you, I don’t know how I feel about it. It’s confusing for me and I’m not used to being interested in someone or having them interested in me.”

“Maybe I can help you figure it out?” Lance suggested with a shrug.

“How?”

“Well, did you enjoy the kiss?” Asked Lance. Keith gave a small nod of the head. “Okay, you don’t have to answer this out loud, but are you attracted to me? Did you enjoy it because it was me or because it was a kiss in general?”

Lance let Keith digest what he just asked and gave him time to think. Once he saw Keith finally meet his eyes again, he asked a final question. “Finally, and probably the biggest one, do you want to do it again?” 

Silence hung over them, Keith didn’t look down and Lance didn’t break their eye contact. Lance stayed absolutely still, afraid to disturb whatever was going through Keith’s brain. He could see the gears working. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Keith had taken a hold of Lance’s face and brought his lips towards his. Lance was quick to respond, grabbing onto Keith’s waist. Suddenly Keith’s mouth was opening and he jammed his tongue against Lance’s closed lips. Lance got the hint and opened up for Keith, allowing him to explore his mouth. Keith explored places in his mouth that not even Lance knew he had. It was too much, Keith’s amazing lips were on his and Lance couldn’t handle it anymore. He broke away from the kiss and tried to catch his breath. The kiss took his breath away.

With a slight pant Lance looked toward Keith, “So did you figure it out?” 

Keith looked him dead in the eye, then broke into a smile, and finally let out one of his musical laughs. “Yeah, yeah I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this was long overdue. I have recently been dealing with mental health issues, college issues, and financial issues. Basically, I have a lot of issues, but I'm finally in a good spot in my life. I'm finally happy. Therefore, I shall continue on with old projects! I also believe my writing style has greatly improved.
> 
> Please comment what you think!


	9. "Jesus God"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So, we have no idea what we are doing basically?” 
> 
> “Basically.”

Keith was surprised Lance understood feelings so well. He flirted with anything that had a heartbeat and vaguely looked attractive. He expected Lance to have a shallow understanding of what feelings were, but he helped Keith figure out his feelings. He had no idea what to make of the fact that he had feelings… like a real person. And for Lance at that. There were so many other things he still had to figure out as well, such as how this would affect Voltron, if he always felt this way or if this was something new, or  _ why? _ Keith worked on the basis that he needed to fully understand things to accept them for the most part. But Lance’s lips were so intoxicating that those moments where he didn’t have to think about anything except Lance. Annoying, obnoxious Lance.

 

After the epiphany, Keith and Lance ended up walking towards the room where Shiro was currently healing. Shiro was more important than a makeout session and Keith’s current crisis. The door opened to reveal a tired looking Pidge leaning on a focused Hunk. Allura and Coran were monitoring the vitals displayed in front of them, Coran breaking away to look towards the new bodies entering.

 

“Ah, hello there!” Coran greeted with a wave, “How’s the young one doing?”

 

“He’s… overwhelmed,” Lance admitted.

 

“No shit sherlock,” Pidge said not even opening up their eyes.

 

“He did just admit that the Shiro from his universe tried to kill his parents, oh who also happen to be you guys!” Hunk pointed out, “Which is really fucked up when I think about it. I can’t imagine our Shiro being like that.”

 

“Me neither, that’s why it’s kind of hard for me to grasp,” Lance said.

 

“This universe breaks everything he knows,” Allura shook her head, “I’ve been looking to see if there is anything like the gate we found with the Altean ship, but nothing…”

 

“So, we have no idea what we are doing basically?” Keith said with a sigh.

 

Allura looked at him sadly, “Basically.”

 

“Well! We better figure out what the fuck to do then!” Keith exclaimed. Everyone was startled by his outburst, even the half asleep Pidge jolted fully awake. 

 

“Keith, we all want to figure out what we can do,” Allura said softly, “And we will figure it out, but right now I’m trying to keep Shiro alive.”

 

Keith suddenly remembered the other body in the room, the motionless, silent body. He let out a sigh and walked closer to Shiro. “I’m sorry,” He apologized not taking his eyes off Shiro, “There’s just so much going on, I don’t know what to deal with first.”  

 

“You don’t have to deal with it alone, we are a team you know. Just because you are our leader doesn’t mean you have to carry all of this responsibility. This it Voltron’s problem, not just Keith’s problem.” Lance responded.

 

“Yeah, Keith. You’re not alone!” Hunk exclaimed.

 

Hunk pulled Keith into a hug and Lance was quick to join. Pidge then threw themselves into their arms, Coran and Allura joining in soon after. The group erupted into laughter and broke apart.

 

Their laughter was cut short by a sudden beeping coming from the healing pod. Everyone immediately placed their attention to a Shiro who was stumbling out of the pod. Keith was quick to run up and grab Shiro before he completely fell over. Shiro slowly lifted his head and examined each person in front of him. He looked confused and was slowly taking in his surroundings. Finally, a small smile made its way onto his face. He let out a breathy laugh “Well hi”

 

“Oh my Jesus God,” Pidge exclaimed. They ran forward and pulled Shiro into a tight hug. Lance smiled at the scene and Hunk placed a hand on Shiro’s shoulder.

 

“It's good to see you again, man,” Hunk smiled.

 

“Yeah, it really is!” Allura said with relief. 

 

“Well, what happened?” Coran exclaimed.

 

“Uh, I’m not really sure,” Shiro said, still leaning on Keith for support. He clutched his head “Everything is still jumbled up in here.”

 

“That’s fine, you should just rest right now anyways,” Keith said. “Let’s get you to your room.”

 

Keith started guiding Shiro, struggling with Shiro being nearly dead weight. “Here I’ll help!” Lance proclaimed as he tugged one of Shiro’s arms over his shoulder. Together, Lance and Keith dragged Shiro to his room and placed him on his bed. Keith took a seat next to Shiro on the bed. 

 

“You take as much time as you need, I’ll take care of things while you rest,” Keith reassured Shiro. “I do want to know what happened, but right now is not the time.”

 

“Thank you, Keith. You’ve really stepped up,” Shiro said with a smile. Keith smiled back at Shiro then looked up towards Lance.

 

“We should probably let you rest, sleep well, Shiro.”

 

Lance and Keith left his room and walked down the hallway in comfortable silence. Lance listened as his footsteps echoed off the walls. His brain was strangely calm, he wasn’t really thinking about anything. Finally, they reached Lance’s room. “It's been a long night,” Keith said, “We should all go to sleep and talk about what happens next tomorrow morning. Get some rest and relax, Lance.”

 

Lance smiled at Keith, “Thanks, buddy, you too.” 

  
For a split second they just stood there staring at one another before finally breaking whatever moment they were sharing. Lance turned and entered his room quickly and Keith quickly turned to run down the hall. As soon as the door was shut Lance let out a sigh, “Fuck, it’s been a long day.” He placed his head in his hands before finally getting into bed.  _ Maybe things will look up now?  _ Lance thought as he drifted off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop. Anotha one :)
> 
> Comment what you think! Have a lovely day!


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